Nevada County picayune., 1887-09-08
The Defendants AcComplice.
A WITNESSES STORY.

'"'eSi"oi e'i, oi tHe SdIllt town, for the recovery of thirty thousand dollars, of which Inc claimed that said Butterworth had defrauded him. The circumstan ces were these:
 Butterv0rth owned and kept the princi pal store in Acton, and though he had never been regard ] ed as all exemplary gentleman, his honor iD business had been i'm pugned. Those who had the fac ulty of looking upon the undercur. rents of human actions decided that he was d man not bound by honor, but who understood the law of self interest too well to be oi small meannesses in business What he was caps ble of doing on a grand scale was not mooted until the occurrence of which am about to speak.
 Seth Damon had removed from Edson to Acton in the fall, and had purchased the iron works. Shortly alter concluding the pur- chase, he had a payment of thirty thousand dollars to make, and late on a Sunday afternoon he arrived from New York with the monev-- part of it in bank notes, and part 1 in gold. When he arrived he found that the parties to whom the mon- ey was to be paid had left town, aud would not return till Monday. Mr. Bntterworth had the only re. liable safety vault in town, aud to MT. Butterworth, Damon took the thirty thousand dollars, asking permission to lodge it in his vault over the Sabbath. which permiS. sion was readily and cheerfully granted.
 During Sunday night the people of the village were aroused by the alarm of fire; and upon starting out it was found that the alarm came from Buttcrworth' store, but Mir. ButterwOrth had been ac- tive. He had discovered the fire in season, and, with the assistance of his boys, had put it out before much damage had been done. Up on looking over the premises 1t was found that the fire had not on. ly been the evident work of an in cendiary, but that it had been set in several different places.
 "How fortunate" said the own. CT. that discovered it in season.
 But soon another discovery was made. The safety vault had been broken open, and every dollar it had contained stolen away! Here was alarm and consternation. Ga. Uricl Buttcrworth seemed fit to go crazy.
 For myself l care not, he cried. A few hundred were all l had In there; but my friend had a great sum"
 Immediate search for the rObbei or robbers, was instituted, and word was sent far and near to al sherifls and their deputies, and tC the police of the cities.
 Now it had so happened that ol that very Sunday evening or, may, Sunday night, for it was near midnight-I, John Watson, hao been returning from my brothers, in Dunstable. had left my hiret team at the stable, and on my way to my boarding house l passed the store of Mir. ButterwOrth. In the back yard of the store was horse trough, and being thirsty, stepped around that way to get q draught of water. As l st0oped to drink at the spout of the fonn tain I saw a gleam of light through a crevice in the shutters of one ol the store windows. Curiosity lm- pelled me to go aud peer through; for | wondered who could be ln there at that hour of a Sunday night. The crevice was qnltt large, made by wearing Of the edges of the shutters where they had been caught by the hookstha held them back when open, ant through it looked into the store I looked upon the wall within which the safety vault was built and l saw the vault open, and saw Gabriel Butterworth at worl therein. l saw him put large pack aces into his breast pocket. and saw him bring out two or three small canvas bags, like shot bags and set them upon the floor by the